Wait a minute. Teachout’s listening to Toto? I could understand Journey. Twist my arm and you could even make a case for Foreigner. But Toto? He really must be sick. Our hope is that we can get Teachout’s toes tapping to Built to Spill or the Magnetic Fields and back to robust health. Nevertheless, we wish him well and suggest you buy his new book.
As for us (And this will be our last use of first person plural for the year. How did we get sucked into this stylistic vice? Worse than nicotine, I tell ya. Just as bad as parenthetical asides.), we’re overcapacitated. Expect us to return tomorrow. Maybe.
Magic Hours by Tom Bissell: This marvelous collection of essays chronicles everything from film shoots to novelists rescued from oblivion. (The essay on the Underground Literary Alliance, with its portrait of raucous factions, unexpectedly reveals how soft today's literary world has become.) But if you peer between the cracks of these smart pieces, you may very well see how cultural lives are formed from the most unexpected life choices. And as we follow Bissell's development as a writer over the years, that goes for Bissell as well. (
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway: Harkaway's latest novel greatly improves on his previous book, The Gone-Away World, which I'm already on record as praising. Angelmaker adopts genre elements without ever feeling like a genre book, and it leads me to believe that Harkaway is well on his way to a narrative grace close to China Miéville's. Yet inexplicably this very fun book, which includes an eightysomething badass named Edie Banister, a mysterious mechanical object that may destroy the world, farcical scenarios involving lawyers and the police, and some unexpectedly moving moments about fatherhood, doesn't appear to be getting much attention in American newspapers. Nothing from the snobs at The New York Times Book Review, nothing from The Washington Post. And since I can't get Harkaway on Bat Segundo, I hope this Jump Up and Down mention gets you hopping as well.
The Age of Insight by Eric Kandel: Unless you're really pressed for time, forget Jonah Lehrer. If you want to understand creativity and its relationship to neuroscience, then the bowtie-wearing Nobel laureate is your man. In addition to being a physically beautiful book (you will drool over many of the paintings), there are helpful overviews on optical illusions, science, biographical backgrounds, and many vital figures from the Vienna Secession. Kandel's enthusiasm (and his call for greater unity between the humanities and science) is contagious.
Toto–my God, I feel a mullet coming on. And what about George Strait? Did someone spike TT’s Cabernet with chewing tobacco?
Next up: Death Cab for Cutie….t
Perhaps a little Boston? Or even Foghat. It’s my birthday by the way. Woo hoo.
Wha? Toto IV is the jam.
Then again, I can’t recommend the Mag Fields enough–just saw them live in Boulder. Good stuff.
Hey, one of MY favorite MP3 is “Heat of the Moment,” which I think tops Toto for sheer tackiness. But then, I listen to “MacArthur Park” with near-total sincerity, so I’m clearly just a sick, sick man.
You mean “Heat of the Moment” by Prog Rock Supergroup Asia? Oh, Ron.
The only thing I remember about Asia was a review by JD Considine in Musician magazine years ago. Asia’s album was called “GTR.” Considine’s review: “SHT.” Rock criticism don’t get no better than that, ladies and gentlemen.
Hey, do NOT diss Boston – Brad Delp is the messiah.
Okay, I’ll cop to Re-Flex’s “The Politics of Dancing.”
Don’t forget Toto is responsible for the score for Lynch’s Dune. Love that movie.
Toto. Jeez. Some people just don’t know good music when they hear it. Night Ranger – now there’s a band.